FIDE World Championship closing ceremony

7/15/2004 – After the tiebreak games at the FIDE world chess championship in Libya the new champion was crowned in a splendid closing ceremony, attended by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Libyan OC President Mohammed Al Gadhafi (son of Muammar). We bring you pictures and an interview with Rustam Kasimdzhanov.

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Portrait of a world champion

Rustam Kasimdzhanov, 24, born on May 12th, 1979 in Uzbekistan, married, one
son, Azar, who is nearly two years old and currently living in Germany. Has
played chess since he was five years old. First time on the rating list: July
1993 with 2259 points; first time among top 100: December 1998 with 2582 points
and 97th place in the World; first time more than 2600 points (2601) in April
2000. Current rating 2640, best rating 2706. Asian Champion in 1998, silver
medalist in the World Junior Championship in Erevan 1999, Best results: in
the second World Cup in Hyderabad in India 2002, where he qualified for the
finals and lost to Vishy Anand 0,5:1,5. Most important tournament wins: Essen
2001 and Pamplona 2002. Hobby: Literature (English and German).

On his preparation for the World Championship
Nothing special, I only prepared for the first round against Alejandro Ramirez.
I had to work very hard to catch up with opening theory during the tournament.
I took each decision round by round and played lines I had rarely played before,
since all my opponents were very well prepared.

On the final against Adams
After Qc6+ in game six I felt it was all over. I sensed that the game was lost
when I saw Qc6+. It was incredible, from almost won to almost lost in one move.
The quality of chess suffered greatly in the final, the stress that the players
suffered cannot be underestimated. I am sure there are no complaints of any
quick draws.

His next plans
I will not shun playing in tournaments. I think that the world champion has
a responsibility to play as many tournaments as he can during his tenure. This
is our legacy. My immediate plans are to go back to my family. Currently there
are my mother and brother also in Germany and we will have some quality time
together. I will also probably play in the Olympiad for Uzbekistan.

On his match against Garry Kasparov
I will drink a cup of coffee with my friends and we will discuss the plans.
I have played Kasparov a few times with disastrous results. I hope this will
change of course.

See also

11/28/2018 – The moment we've all been waiting for! Live games (for Premium members) from the 2018 World Championship match in London. Every two games will be followed by a rest day until Game 12 (if necessary) on November 26th which will be preceded by an additional rest day. All rounds start at 15:00 UT (London time) / 16:00 CEST / 10:00 EST. If needed there would be a rapid tiebreak match on Wednesday, November 28th. | Photos: Patricia Claros

See also

8/27/2018 – Live games and commentary from Saint Louis! Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian tied for first place, while Caruana also tied for fourth place in the Grand Chess Tour standings with Wesley So, forcing a playoff match to be held on Tuesday. | Graphic: Saint Louis Chess Club

Video

The Elephant Gambit (1.e4.e5 2.Nf3 d5!?) has never really been given the attention it deserves. It is a very useful surprise weapon. Let us list the advantages of playing this particular opening: 1) Shock value 2) It is very aggressive. Black can take over the initiative early. 3) Many tricky lines 4) Unorthodox. Black is basically taking the game to the opponent as early as move two. Not many openings do that! It's a perfect opening for young players and club players to adopt. Let Andrew Martin select a repertoire for you on this 60 mins, which, if used with discretion, will rack up the points. I am sure that you will enjoy this unusual tour of the Elephant Gambit.